Weaker Than a Girl - Determined's Log

**determined88** · 09-12-2006, 07:13 PM

Hello, as you can tell from the title I'm absurdly weak. I'm 180 lb, 5'11, 30+ bf, Asian, and my strength is almost non-existent. I can only bench the bar itself and can barely squat 65 lb. As a kid I always was picked last for dodgeball, soccer, football, or any sports, so I just quit being active altogether. I fell into that mindset that I could just earn my way through life as an intellectual and completely neglect the physical side of life.
Obviously that path doesn't work, I always feel listless, lethargic, and always having to dodge my mates when they invite me out for a game feels horrible. I'm starting my first year of university as an electrical engineering major, and this time I don't want to sit in my dorm doing homework all day like I did in high school, and miss all the social and physical activities of youth. I hate having to turn down friends inviting me to a game of dodgeball or football or whatever by making up some lame excuse so I don't show my pitiful strength.
I am absolutely determined to change the way I am with my 4 years here at the university. It has everything I need, a great weight room, all-you-can-eat cafeteria stocked with clean food, and a small student body so its not overcrowded. My brother, who visits this site quite frequently, told me to register here for the community and he bought me "Starting Strength" by Mark Rippetoe before I left. I have all the tools and determination I need to change my lifestyle for the better. I love the way Mark Rippetoe puts it in the first page of his book: "Physical strength is the most important thing in life. The reality of millions of years of adaption to a ruggedly physical existence will not just go away because desks were invented."

Anyway, prior to this posting I had already (sort of) completed 2 workouts, A and B.

Day 1 9/8/06 Friday
3x5 45 lb squats (just the bar)
3x5 45 lb bench press (bar again)
2x5; 1x3 55 lb deadlift (couldn't finish)

I arrive in the gym and theres a bunch of totally buff guys working out. I start loading up my power rack and theres a guy to the rack next to me adding some huge plates on his, something like 100 on each side! I feel horrible squatting just the bar and think about how ridiculous I look, especially as I'm having trouble on my last set and my muscles feel completely wasted and on fire. Anyway, I found solace in the fact that I went below parallel with good form, while when I watched him, he was looking straight upward and squatting like only a quarter or third of the way. I didn't feel too bad even though a lot of people were giving me weird looks, I'm sure they'd agree that it's better that at least I'm training to improve myself instead of just vegetating in my dorm.
After squats I tried bench pressing just the bar, and I found it extremely taxing on my arms. I could barely make it go straight up, my arms were quivering quite madly towards the end. My friend added 2 5 pound plates to each side just to test, and I couldn't even make a single rep! Pretty bad I think.

Day 2 9/11/06 Monday
1x5 45 lb squats
3x5 55 lb squats

I tried to do barbell presses and rows, but I honest to god cannot get the bar up, it's just plain too heavy for my current strength level. I couldn't find any other alternatives, so I just left after doing my squats. My floormate informs me that theres something called an ez curl bar or something there that weighs only 18 pounds, so I'm going to try to build some strength pressing and rowing that until I'm able to move up to the olympic bar. Still feeling pretty good about this.

**Rune** · 09-12-2006, 07:30 PM

Try not to let the weight your moving get you discuraged. If you put time and effort into educating yourself and even more time and effort into eating properly and training hard you can achieve most anything. I was in a similar situation to you when I started, I was hovering around 240lbs @ 25+%bf and I was very weak for my size. A little over 18 months later I am where I am now.

You've already made the first step, you've started to try to change for the better, and keeping track of your progess via this log will help you emmencely. Concider me along for the ride bro, and if you have any questions - don't hesitate to ask, there are many VERY knowlegeable people on this site who are more than will to help/adivise.. again, best of luck.

**Rev_Chris** · 09-13-2006, 09:13 AM

Im partway down the path your starting now , use these forums ato your advantage , get educated , change your eating habits and get to the gym. I didn't think I could do it but im just 2 workouts away from not missing a gym visit in 8 weeks. Its not about the weight you move.. remember that.
Good Luck

**nc9892** · 09-13-2006, 09:37 AM

Originally Posted by Rev_Chris

Im partway down the path your starting now , use these forums ato your advantage , get educated , change your eating habits and get to the gym. I didn't think I could do it but im just 2 workouts away from not missing a gym visit in 8 weeks. Its not about the weight you move.. remember that.
Good Luck

Great advice. You are on the right road to a good body. Gotta start somewhere. I remember when I could only bench the bar. Now I'm pushin my body weight, and each time I lift I increase. Here's a few tips:
Increase the weights 5 lbs a week
-Get a SOLID routine (you can check out/use mine in my journal if you need one. or ask people to help you with one)
-Lift HEAVY and go HARDCORE. you gotta push it to see results
-Cardio on days you don't lift. I walk atleast 1 hr a day on these days.
-find low/non fat versions of your fav foods. These will keep you from going insane on a diet. ~fat free no sugar added ice cream. . .nuff said ~
-Stay positive at all times. Remember always you are doing this because you think the results will make you happier. I will tell you one thing, tis better to strive to be healthy that to kill yourself by being unhealthy

good luck.

**littlechick** · 09-13-2006, 10:56 AM

hey, I am a girl, and was weak, but made great gains on rippetoe....I thought I was a big weakling too, but believe me, stick with it, and you will have to change your journal to something less offensive to us strong girls out there, lol!

**determined88** · 09-13-2006, 02:42 PM

Thanks for the support, guys. The entire university baseball team was in there lifting lifting huge weights, but I stuck to my plan; no amount of intimidation is going to turn me away

Day 3 9/13/06 Wednesday
1x5 45 lb squats
1x5 55 lb squats
3x5 60 lb squats

2x5 45 lb bench
3x5 50 lb bench

I finally found some 2.5 lb plates in the gym. They were in a stack in a dark corner, apparently no one ever used them! Doing squats at 60 lbs totally burned me up, I had to take long pauses between each rep on my last set.
It also felt good to be able to add 5 pounds to my bench, I was working with just the bar 6 days ago. My arm feels totally thrashed though.
I wasn't able to deadlift because the attendant told me exercises that could crack the floor if dropped were prohibited. I thought this was a pretty dumb reason, but this is the same gym that doesn't allow chalk. I'm going to talk to the athletic director tommorow and try to sort it out with him, the place has a rubber floor for a reason! If it works out I'll do some warm ups and then deadlift tommorow.

**determined88** · 09-14-2006, 05:18 PM

Day 3.142857
3x5 55 lb deadlifts

**Rev_Chris** · 09-14-2006, 06:12 PM

Good for you man,
Keep up the good work

**determined88** · 09-15-2006, 07:32 AM

Day 4 9/15/06 Friday

1x5 45 lb squats
1x5 55 lb squats
1x5 65 lb squats
3x5 70 lb squats

3x5 28 lb military press

3x5 28 lb bb row

**daYDreAmErX** · 09-15-2006, 07:50 AM

Yeah, good luck. We all gotta start somewhere.

**nc9892** · 09-15-2006, 09:36 AM

YOU CAN DO IT! ! ! reps for your optimism buddy

**determined88** · 09-18-2006, 07:39 AM

Day 5 9/18/06 Monday

1x5 45 lb squats
1x5 65 lb squats
3x5 75 lb squats

1x5 45 lb bench
1x5 50 lb bench
3x5 55 lb bench

3x5 65 lb deadlift

I'm really looking forward to working out! It was all I could think about over the weekend; I could barely bench 50 lb on my last A workout and needed my friend to help me on the last 2 reps, but this time I blew through 55 lb like nothing! It feels great! Being able to progress on squats feels awesome too, I remember when I could barely squat 55 lb when I first started without being extremely sore, now I just did 75 and it feels just fine. I'm still trying to work out the kinks of deadlifting, since I'm supposed to only be able to do 1 set and I'm doing 3 now. I think I need to jump the weight up a bit, the clips have a bigger radius than the 2 ten pound plates on the bar. Thanks for the support everyone!

**Rune** · 09-18-2006, 07:58 AM

Great work man, you'll find your strength will jump up quite drasticly over the next couple of months as your muscles start to realize what their capable of. Enjoy it man, keep working as hard as you are and the amount of progress you'll make will be amazing!

**determined88** · 09-20-2006, 03:35 PM

Day 6 9/20/06 Wednesday

1x5 45 lb squats
1x5 65 lb squats
3x5 80 lb squats

2x5 33 lb military press
1x4 33 lb military press

3x5 33 lb bb row

**determined88** · 09-22-2006, 10:20 AM

Day 7 9/22/06 Friday
1x5 45 lb squats
1x5 65 lb squats
3x5 85 lb squats

1x5 45 lb bench
2x5, 1x3 60 lb bench

1x5 65 lb deadlift
1x5 85 lb deadlift

A guy helped me with my squat form today. He said I was rounding my back and leaning forward too much. When I arched my back correctly it felt much easier lifting. He put 2 25's (total of 95) on each side and said I could squat that easily if I used the correct form, and much to my astonishment, it was much easier with correct form and not leaning too much forward! than it was when I did 85 incorrectly.
I didn't have a lot of time today, I had 3 things to do -- finish my homework, go weight-lifting, and attend class. I skipped class so I could lift and finish my homework. Priorities, I guess.

**determined88** · 09-25-2006, 10:03 AM

Day 8 9/25/06 Wednesday

1x5 45 lb squats
1x5 65 lb squats
3x5 90 lb squats

3x5 33 lb military press

3x5 38 lb bb row

Call me crazy, but I really look forward to Mondays. Taking Saturday and Sunday off from lifting really excites me for the Monday workout. Weights are still steadily progressing. I was able to finish 33 lb military presses much easier this time even though it's the same weight as the last workout. Two 25 pound plates on each side of the bar next squat set! I can't wait!

**determined88** · 09-27-2006, 02:47 PM

Day 9 9/27/06 Wednesday

1x5 45 lb squats
1x5 65 lb squats
3x5 95 lb squats

1x5 45 lb bench
3x5 60 lb bench

1x5 65 lb deadlift
1x5 95 lb deadlift

I noticed in my squat and bench that my right hand goes up faster than my left, even though my left is dominant and much stronger. Like there'll be a 1-2 second lag.

**determined88** · 09-29-2006, 09:30 AM

Day 10 9/29/06 Friday

1x5 45 lb squats
1x5 65 lb squats
1x5, 1x3 100 lb squats (just couldn't get it up anymore)
1x5 95 lb squats

2x5, 1x2 38 lb military press
1x5 18 lb military press

3x5 43 lb bb row

I think I'm hitting my maxes. 100 lb on the squat just got impossible, but when i removed 5 pounds it became doable. The military press is just insanely difficult, a jump of 5 pounds is a huge transition.
But in other news, I notice my face and body getting noticeably leaner, and I feel this weird lump I've never felt before on my upper arm. I think it's muscle

**wh0died** · 09-29-2006, 09:34 AM

Originally Posted by littlechick

hey, I am a girl, and was weak, but made great gains on rippetoe....I thought I was a big weakling too, but believe me, stick with it, and you will have to change your journal to something less offensive to us strong girls out there, lol!

So he should strive to be "weaker than a strong girl"? Sound advice.

determined88, don't be discouraged by her post. Soon enough you'll be weaker than a man and you'll be proud of yourself. Seriously, good luck in your journal. Everyone's gotta start somewhere. How are you pressing 38 lbs on a 45 lb bar?

**dblbassted** · 09-29-2006, 09:38 AM

I was curious about that too..... I'm subscribed, bro.

**Fuerza_M** · 09-29-2006, 09:39 AM

Good luck with your goals , one question how is your diet?

**benchintraining** · 09-29-2006, 02:06 PM

Dont worry about your strenght. We were and most of us are still weak. The big movers were not born that way, they trained to get that way. Props for bustin your ass in the gym. If I were you I would adopt the 5 x 5 or an HST program to start. Since you are just starting out, I would add push ups and pull ups to your workout. If you cant do a pull up, do negatives. You are making some good gains out of the gate. Oh yeah, the dude that was quarter squatting, no matter what he had on, you out squatted him by going below parallel. Best of luck. I'm subscribing!!

**determined88** · 09-29-2006, 04:58 PM

I'm pressing 38 pounds using an ez curl bar. It looks pretty stupid I admit, but oh well. I already left my ego at the door on the first day when I walked into the gym and had trouble benching just the bar for 5 reps. Anyway, I'll be moving onto the REAL BAR soon enough

My diet is pretty good I think. For breakfast, I usually have 3 hardboiled eggs, some scrambled eggs, pancakes or whatever is on the cart at the time, and sometimes some sausages or bacon (very sparingly). I also have a glass of milk with my multivitamin.
For lunch and dinner I have the same things. I have a big salad with lots of tomatoes, cottage cheese, and eggs on top. I'll also have whatever the cafeteria is making today, as long as it isn't blatantly a heart-attack in the making. For instance sometimes theres lean chicken or steak or roast beef or something and I'll have that, but I always pass when theres french fries, something fried, or something just dripping in fat and grease. I also usually have a side of steamed vegetables and maybe some fruit. I have 1-2 glasses of milk with these meals depending on how I'm feeling.

It's not really possible to have more than 3 meals with the way meal plans are set up at my school's cafeteria, but on average my calorie intake usually fluctuates between 3000 and 3500. The biggest problem is that its hard to get enough protein per day since usually the only meat source is something fat and greasy as hell. I ordered some whey powder yesterday so hopefully supplements can help make up this deficit.

I don't know about doing 5x5, if I can barely do 3x5 with relatively light weights I don't think I'd be able to push out another 2 sets. Not sure what HST is either. I'm mainly going with Starting Strength because its widely acknowledged as a newbie program with proven results. I'll need to do some research on what pullup negatives are, but I'm currently unable to do a single pushup because my upper body strength is very weak while my bodyweight is very high. I'm hoping to decrease this ratio down the road so they'll be doable. I lost 3 pounds in the past 3 weeks; I'm not really sure how I'm losing weight when I'm eating a caloric excess, but oh well, it feels good anyway.

Thanks for the support everyone. The hardest part of this I think is restraining myself from going to the gym over the weekend, but I gotta stick to the prescribed MWF split.

**Fuerza_M** · 09-29-2006, 05:09 PM

your 3,000-3,500 looks good , another thing maybe help is your workout nutrition, protein+carbs before and after your workout if you can add creatine will be ok.

**Sadao** · 09-29-2006, 07:22 PM

Keep it up mate, and yes stick with rippetoe's for a long time, it won't let you down. I'll be following along closely as i'm on the same program just a bit further down the road. Good luck!

**Gettinpumped** · 09-29-2006, 08:00 PM

Damn bro ur workouts are lookig good. Soon u'll be squating with 45s on each side. Just keep doing what ur doing and since ur only able to eat 3 meals try to get in alteast 2 protein shakes inbetween meals. U'll be surprised at how fast u'll see strenght gains.

**determined88** · 09-30-2006, 01:45 PM

How do you all keep from sneaking in extra sessions at the gym? I just have this irrepressible urge to go train right now, the fact that I wasn't able to increase my weights for my last squats is just haunting me. I know I won't be able to because my legs are feeling shot right now, but my brain is just telling me to go and do it. Anyone else get this feeling a lot?

**smallasian721** · 09-30-2006, 01:57 PM

Keep it up, man! I was, and still am, a fat, weak asian too! (Although not so fat now.) Ill be watching your progress on Rippetoe's, and on my log, Im starting Rippetoe's Also! Ill be watching for you in the Mr. Olympia contests a few years from now =D... Nah, but really, it takes guts and willpower to get started. Remember, it's not about the weight, it's about the willpower. The weight will come later.

PS- Watch my progress- Its on the journal titled "A Little Asian's Journey for Mass...And Self Confidence"

Ill be watching yours! In 4 years or so, youll be a monster benching 3 plates!

**Sadao** · 09-30-2006, 02:16 PM

Your love for the gym and wanting to workout all the time is strongest in the beginning, it'll always be fun and you'll want to go, but it'll get easier in time to not have that craving.

**dblbassted** · 09-30-2006, 02:44 PM

Originally Posted by determined88

How do you all keep from sneaking in extra sessions at the gym? I just have this irrepressible urge to go train right now, the fact that I wasn't able to increase my weights for my last squats is just haunting me. I know I won't be able to because my legs are feeling shot right now, but my brain is just telling me to go and do it. Anyone else get this feeling a lot?

By making sure that I'm sore when I leave... Plus, I'm married, so I have to get a kitchen pass to leave anyway.

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